If you are thinking of showing your French bulldog then you will have bought the puppy from a reputable breeder who has strived to raise show dogs and whose puppies come from winning show dogs. The breeder will have given you advice when choosing your puppy and the puppy will have all the appropriate papers needed for showing. There are certain criteria which the show dog must posses in order to become a champion and these are set out as follows:

General appearance - the body should be sturdy, compact and solid with good bone, the coat should be short, smooth and good overall balance is essential.

Characteristics – full of courage with clown like qualities, the ears should be bat like and the tail should be short but not docked.

Temperament - deeply affectionate and intelligent.

Head and skull - the head should be square, large and broad while being in proportion to the dogs size, skull should be almost flat between the ears with a domed forehead. Loose skin around the muzzle should form symmetrical wrinkles with the muzzle being broad, deep and set well back. The muscles of the cheeks should be well developed with black nose and lips. The lower jaw should be deep, square, broad and slightly undershot; the nose should be extremely short and black with clear nostrils. The lips should be thick and meet in the centre.

Eyes - the eyes should be dark in colour and match, they should be moderate in size, round and be neither sunken nor prominent. They should be set wide apart and low down in the skull.

Ears - the ears should be bat like and of medium size, they should be wide at the base and round at the top. The should be carried upright and not too close together.

Mouth – slightly under shot with teeth that are round and regular, the tongue must not protrude.

Neck - the neck should be powerful with loose skin at the throat, it should be well arched and thick without being too short.

Forequarters - the legs should be set wide apart, straight boned, strong, muscular and short.

Body – short, muscular and well rounded with deep wide brisket, wide at the shoulders and narrowing at the loins, the ribs should be well sprung.

Hind quarters - the legs should be strong, muscular and longer than the forelegs, the loins should be raised above shoulders.

Feet - small and compact.

Tail – short but undocked, thick at the root while tapering to the tip.

Coat - fine, smooth, short and close.

Colour – brindle, pied or fawn.

Size - ideal weight for dogs is 28lb, bitches should be 24lb.

If you are looking for a dog who has a short easy to care for coat in a variety of colours who generally will get on with everyone and everything, who doesn’t bark much and requires very little exercise then the French bulldog might be the ideal breed for you. However if you don’t like stubbornness, sniffling, wheezing, a dog who slobbers and snorts a lot, who can be slow to house train and which can have serious problems with its health then you might be better off choosing a different breed.

The most important points to consider

* The French bulldog sounds – a great deal of French bulldogs share the same trait which is well known to the breed, this includes snorting, snuffling, grunting, wheezing and snoring loudly at times. While these sounds can be charming at times and fit the breed they can become nerve wrecking over time.

* Slobbering – the French bulldog is well known for its slobbering jowls, the frenchie is known for its excessive drooling particularly after eating and drinking. While some may not mind finding dog drool and slobber everywhere others might regard it with pure distaste.

* House training – the French bulldog can be very stubborn when it comes to being told what to do, on average you can expect to have to house train your puppy for roughly 6 months before it catches on. Even then there are no guarantees your efforts will succeed, it’s more a matter of who has the strongest will you or your dog.

* High maintenance – a puppy will be very expensive as they are a breed which is particularly had to breed many times artificial insemination is the only way to go. The breed also has problems giving birth due to the head size of the puppies and many times a caesarean is needed with a vets assistance.

* Serious health problems – this breed isn’t without serious health problems, many of the breed struggle to breathe in hot weather and during the summer they should be supervised to make sure they don’t become over heated. The French bulldog is also known to suffer from problems such as spinal defects, heart defects and problems with the joints.

* Gassiness – unfortunately this is a major problem with the French bulldog, though dogs fed on a natural diet of real meat instead of tinned have much less trouble with this problem.

After having said all of this there are many good points to owning a French bulldog, they are a lovable breed who act and look comical at times. There are many good points to consider as well as the bad, if after having taken all this into account you still think a French bulldog might be right for you then you should find a reputable breeder who can give you more information on the breed.

Exercise
While your French bulldog is young try to avoid any forced jumping exercises, these include allowing your puppy to jump up onto the bed and back down from it, forced jumping or jumping up and down the stairs. This is mainly due to the vertical movements of this kind can increase the pressure on the cartridge of the articulations, any harm done to these early could cause deformation of the position of the legs. French bulldogs are still considered young until around 18 month of age.

The eyes
Some breeds of the French bulldog have been known to have 2 puntae instead of the correct 4; this can cause excessive tearing of the eye if this is the case with your French bulldog seek a vets advice for treatment.

Feeding your French bulldog
French bulldogs should be fed a quality brand of dried food or all natural meat diets, this is more a matter of personal choice for what feels right for you might not to another.

Heat
The French bulldog is very sensitive to becoming over heated, during the summer months care should be taken to make sure your dog doesn’t over heat, signs of heat exhaustion are reddening of the inside of the ears and excessive panting.

Hips
French bulldogs can have problems with their hips, hip dysplasia is an abnormal development of the hip bone which can be found in the French bull dog and it is thought that hip dysplasia is hereditary in the bulldog.

Nose
It is a good idea to put a little Vaseline on the nose of your French bull dog every now and again to stop it from drying out, a normal nose should be cool or wet but never dry and hot. If the nose is hot then you should take the dogs temperature and seek the advice of the vet.

Skin – Demodicosis
Demodex canis is a mite which only affects dogs with most dogs being carriers without showing any symptoms. Although demodex can affect a dog of any age it mainly shows in puppies less than 9 months of age.

Wrinkles
Sometimes tear attains can form in the wrinkles on the face, you should first determine the cause of the tears, then clean the wrinkles of the face with hydrogen peroxide.

One of the biggest traits of the French bulldog that almost all owners of this delightful little playful dog will tell you is that it is a clown; the breed has been dubbed absolutely hilarious and delightful. If you are looking for a faithful companion pet then you can do no better than the little Frenchie. Here are some useful tips :
The French bulldog has one of the sweetest personalities of any breed of dog and is well known as the joker who is easy going for the majority of the time, although just as with people dogs differ too in personality and while the Frenchie has an excellent temperament they can have their off days just as anyone can.
While the French bulldog will generally get along with anyone and everybody they do tend to choose one person in particular and then stick with that person. The bond that the Frenchie develops with his main carer and owner is like no other and they are completely devoted and thrive on attention and love, they do not do well when left alone for long periods of time. The French bulldog isn’t a dog that you can own and then ignore except for when you want it around, it is a companion dog and it does need lots of attention and above all love from its owner, the Frenchie is not a dog that can be left alone outside in a kennel as it simply will not thrive without love and affection.

The French bulldog’s temperament with other dogs is generally considered to be good; the majority of time they will get along with other dogs and even other pets in the household but the male dog can sometimes be very aggressive with other males.

While the French bulldog is a very sweet adorable clown the breed does tend to have a mind of its own at times and can be very wilful, you do have to have a firm voice when it comes to training but it is essential that you are very persistent but patient when it comes to the training. Never ever be tempted to hit or jerk your French bulldog around if it doesn’t do as you want, they will not respond to this and will more often than not rebel against it.

The French bulldog does have an excellent temperament with children but because of its small size it can feel intimidated and it can tire easily when around boisterous children, it is a relatively good breed but is best not left at the mercy of very small children and is best with older children who are more considerate and will not chase the poor dog around if he should want to rest. On the other hand some French bulldogs simply seem to have all the energy in the world and are continually on the other move almost all day long; they can be over enthusiastic and don’t know when enough is enough, they can make a lot of noise to get your attention although they are not considered to be yappy.

Just as with people dogs do differ and while the above is a relatively true picture of the average breed of the French bulldog the Frenchie can vary, some are more boisterous than others but almost all French bulldogs have the loyalty and love for their owners which makes them an excellent companion.